3 face charges after a man is held against his will

BREWER, Maine — Three local people were arrested Saturday by state drug agents and Brewer police after allegedly holding an unidentified man against his will at a Brewer motel in what authorities say was part of a drug deal gone sour.

Though all three suspects initially were charged with kidnapping, the charges were amended to criminal restraint before their initial court appearances Monday at the Penobscot County Judicial Center, MDEA Division Commander Darrell Crandall said Monday.

Crandall said, however, that the charges could be amended again after the full case has been reviewed by the Attorney General’s Office before grand jury.

Arrested in the incident were:

• Terrence Garner, 32, of Bangor, who faces charges of criminal restraint, possession of hydrocodone and trafficking in prison contraband.

• Adam Widgins, 32, of Bangor, who is facing charges of criminal restraint, possession of methadone and trafficking in prison contraband. He since has been released on $500 cash bail, an official at Penobscot County Jail confirmed Monday night.

As of late Monday, Garner and Wilcox remained at Penobscot County Jail. Garner’s bail was set at $1,200 and Wilcox’s at $100 cash.

Crandall said that before the arrests took place shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, MDEA agents learned that a man, whose name was not being released Monday, was being held against his will at a Brewer motel.

The victim, Crandall said, was “allegedly being allowed to make telephone calls to collect money he owed for cocaine he had received from the suspects who were holding him.”

According to Crandall, the three took the man’s car keys and were “moving him from room to room” within the motel.

MDEA agents and Brewer police started watching the motel, while undercover state drug agents maintained limited contact with the victim through text messages, Crandall said.

The unidentified man was able to escape after he was briefly left alone, Crandall said. He said MDEA agents directed the man to leave the motel and go across the street, where police picked him up.

Authorities then secured two motel rooms and detained the occupants.

When arrested, Wilcox told drug agents that her name was Meagan Goodine. She initially was charged under that name. Crandall said that agents discovered her real identity after they found her ID card while searching one of the motel rooms.

Brewer Police Chief Perry Antone who was one of several Brewer police officers and detectives involved in Saturday’s incident, said Monday that the situation was brought to an end within about an hour without anyone being injured.

“Any time you have situations where someone is being held against their will, things can become very tense,” Antone said. “If you move too quickly someone could get hurt and if you move too slowly, you could end up behind the play.”

Antone said Brewer police and state drug agents over the years have developed a good working relationship — one that served both agencies well over the weekend.